Xbox sales up 88 per cent in June

Xbox sales were up 88 per cent in June compared with the same month in 2009
Xbox sales were up 88 per cent in June compared with the same month in 2009

The release of the new slimmer Xbox 360 in the US last month has boosted sales of the console hardware by 88 per cent in June, according to the latest NPD figures.

However, videogame software sales in the US were down 15 per cent in the same month, as the quiet summer release schedule took its toll.

Software sales slump

Overall sales are down 9 per cent so far this year compared with the same time in 2009, reports NPD research.

Sales of 452,000 Xbox 360 units in June were 88 per cent higher than in June 2009 and over twice the number sold in May this year.

Nintendo sold 423,000 Wiis in June, up from 335,000 in May, as Super Mario Galaxy 2 boosted hardware sales, having sold 548,000 copies through the month.

Sony sold 305,000 PS3s, which was nearly double May's total of 154,000.

Rockstar cleaned up with Red Dead Redemption, which has sold over 2.5 million copies since launch back in May..

"Software sales are down, but the top 10 [titles] for the month sold comparably to what the top 10 did last June - game sales are more concentrated this year on the top-selling games," said Anita Frazier, NPD analyst.

Microsoft's new slimmer Xbox 360 goes on sale in the UK today, promising a quieter background hum to your gaming experience.

You can hear for yourself the differences in white noise levels between the new slimmer Xbox 360 and the older Xbox 360 Elite model in our head-to-head test.

Adam Hartley